Cabinet Chief resigns

Published

The Cabinet Chief of Staff of President Dilma Rousseff, Antonio Palocci, has resigned his position following a story in the newspaper Folha de Sao Paulo which found that his wealth had grown twentyfold during his period as a congressman.

The newspaper revealed that whilst Mr Palocci was a congressman between 2006 to 2010 his wealth increased without any clear picture as to how the wealth was accumulated. In a statement published in Agencia Brasil, the suggestion is that the money came from consultancies. Apparently the Attorney general has decided to close the case due to lack of any evidence.

Mr Palocci was forced to resign his post as finance minister in 2006 following a claim that he had been involved in a government scheme to bribe lawmakers to vote for ruling party projects. The case was dropped, he was absolved of any wrongdoing and he returned to politics.

President Jose Sergio Gabrielli of the Petrobras Board, the semi-public energy company, has confirmed that Mr Palocci will remain a Board Director. He has been on the Board since 2003.

More detailed briefing on the politics and risk of doing business in this country is available to clients and subscribers. If you would like to know more then please contact enquiries@tradebridgeconsultants.com